Doffing mechanism for ring spinning, doubling, and twisting machines



I rlill Oct. 2, 1951 J. J. HAYTHORNTHWAITE 2,570,057

DOFFING MECHANISM FOR RING SPINNING, DOUBLING AND TWISTING MACHINES Filed Nov. 5, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 2, 1951 J J. HAYTHORNTHWAITE 2,570,057

DOF'FING MECHANISM FOR RING SPINNING, DOUBLING AND TWISTING MACHINES Filed Nov. 5, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 1951 J J. HAYTHORNTHWAITE 2,570,057

- DOFFING MESCHANISM FOR RING SPINNING, DOUBLING AND TW-ISTING MACHINES Filed Nov. 5, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Oct. 2, 1951 DOFFING MECHANISM FOR RING SPINNING, DOUBLING, AND TWISTING MACHINES James Jackson Haythornthwaite, Accrington, England, assignor to T. M. M. (Research) Limited, Rossendale, England Application November 3, 1950, Serial No. 193,825 In Great Britain November 29, 1949 6 Claims. (01. 57-52) This invention is concerned with spinning, doubling and twisting machines of the type comprising means whereby on completion of the formation of the yarn packages the spindles are withdrawn therefrom, so that they or the packages are withdrawn from the spindles, so that the packages are free to fall laterally, or are impelled laterally, for removal preparatory to the placing of a fresh set of bobbins or the like upon the spindles. The object of this invention is to provide, in a machine of such type, improved means ior receiving the yarn packages as they are doffed and removing them from the machine.

According to this invention, a spinning, doubling or twisting machine of the specified type, comprises a casing enclosing the lower part of the front of the machine, a travelling conveyor band extending within said casing throughout the length of the machine (or of a section thereof), the front of said casing consisting of movable door-like members, mechanical means connected with said doors for moving the same outwardly so that they constitute a hopper which, when the yarn packages are dolled from the spindles, guides said packages so that they fall upon said conveyor, and means for operating said conveyor for removing the yarn packages to the end of the machine (or to the end of said section thereof).

At the end of the machine the conveyor may be arranged to discharge the yarn packages into a removable skip or other receptacle which, when full, will be replaced by another.

Further features of the invention consist in the provision of automatic mechanism associated with the package-cloning mechanism and cooperating in timed relationship therewith to move the casing doors to the hopper position, to set the conveyor in motion, immediately before the yarn packages are doifed, and to restore the casing and to stop the conveyor at appropriate intervals after completion of the doffing operation.

The nature of the invention and the manner of its performance are hereinafter more fully described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings which illustrate the application of the invention to a ring spinning machine incorporating a package-building mechanism embodying the invention described in United States application serial No. 159,453, filed May 2, 1950, and a package-dofling mechanism as described in United States application Serial No. 195,961, filed November 16, 1950. Fig. 1 is a perspective diagram of the headstock end of the machine and Fig. 2 is a similar View in continuation of Fig. 1 to the other end of the:

machine. Fig. 3 is a transverse section, depicting the casing doors in the hopper position (right-hand side) and in the closed position (left-hand side). It will be understood that only those parts are illustrated which are concerned with the present invention, the creel, the drafting apparatus and other essential elements of the machine being omitted.

In the illustrated machine, the principle elements shown are I the roller beam, 2 the ring rail, 3 the spindle rail, 4 a spindle, 5 the basal frame, 6 the headstock casing and I the shaft which is connected to the spindle rail 3 through the medium of an endless chain 8 (Fig. 3) passing over sprockets 9 and I0 for the purpose of raising and lowering the spindle rail in the course of the package-building operation. The said shaft 1 is controlled through the epicyclic gearing comprising the pinion II, the planet wheel l2, the planet-wheel carrier I3, the planet wheel l4 and the fixed pinion l5, by the building motion described in United States application Serial No. 159,453, filed May 2, 1950, except after completion of the yarn package formation. At that time the dofling motor I6 comes into operation to rotate the shaft 7 continuously through the medium of the shaft 11, a reduction gear-train enclosed in the housing 18, the shaft [9, the worm 29, the worm-wheel 2|, the spur-wheel 22 which rotates with said worm-wheel 2|, the planetwheel carrier l3, and the planet wheel l2 and pinion ll.

According to the invention which forms the subject of United States application Serial No. 195,961, filed November 16, 1950, the doffing motor It raises the spindles 4 until the yarn packages reach the .position indicated at A in Fig. 1, where they are retained whilst the spindles 4, are withdrawn, so that they are free to fall forwardly, as shown at B, or to be positively impelled by a forward movement of the separators 2 3. This latter effect may be achieved by mounting the separators 23 upon a common longitudinal carrier 24 which is supported by brackets 25 pivoted on the underside of the roller beam 5. ihe shaft 1 carries a plurality of earns 25 which reach the position shown in Fig. 1 when the spindles have been withdrawn. The cams 25, in their continued forward rotation with the shaft 1 as the spindles are taken to their lowermost position, impinge against the brackets 25 to rock the latter and the carrier 24, so that the separators 23 push the yarn packages forward sufficientl to ensure that they will topple onto the convevor hereinafter to be described.

The front of the machine is enclosed throughout its length by a casing consisting of a backplate 21 which, although stationary during the operation of the machine, is easily removable to give access to the spindles, spindle-driving gear and other parts concealed behind them, and a front-plate composed of a plurality of door-like sections 28 the upper edge of which is folded under at the level of the ring rail 2. Said sections 28 are pivoted at 29 upon a suitable fixed part of the framing (not shown), and beneath said fulcrum points 29 they are attached at 35, 30 to links 3| which are connected at their other ends to cranks 32 mounted upon a longitudinal rocking shaft 33.

Said shaft 33 extends into the headstock casing B, where it carries one member 34 of a dragclutch, the other member 35 of which is mounted on a shaft 36 which receives a part-rotational movement through the crank and connectingrod linkage 31', 38, 39 from a slow-speed shaft 43 within the reduction gear unit It. The shaft 33 also bears a lever 4| by which it is'connected through a link 42 to a pivotally mounted operating-handle 43. In the embodiment illustrated, the lever 4! forms part of a bell-crank lever of which the other arm 44 is employed to transmit operative movements to a lever 45 fixed on the shaft 33 at the other side of the machine through a connecting-rod 46.

The arrangement is such that when the spindles are lowered by the motor 15 during the doffing operation, immediately before the freed yarn packages at A are projected forwardly by the separators 23, the shaft 33 is partially rotated by the shaft 40 through the engagement of the members of the drag-clutch34, 35, causing the easing door sections 28 to swing outwardly into the position shown in Fig. 1 and at the right-hand side of Fig. 3. In this position, said sections 28 consistute the wall of a hopper extending along the length of the machine, by which the yarn packages are received, as at B in Fig. 1, and guided so as to fall upon the upper run of the travelling conveyor which forms the base of the casing.

The said conveyor consists of an endless band 41 which is stretched along the front of the machine between a driving roller 48 (Fig. 2) and an idler roller 49, being supported at intervals by fixed plates 50, 50. The conveyors at both sides of the machine are driven by a motor 5| which is housed in the tail-end casing 52, the shaft 53 of said motor carrying a worm 54 meshing with a'worm-wheel 55 fixed on a cross-shaft 56 which constitutes a common driving-shaft for the two driving rollers 48. Said shaft 56 is also used to drive, through the gear-wheels 51, 53 and 59 a second cross-shaft 39 which carries the driving rollers 6| of two subsidiary conveyors 32 respectively arranged to receive yarn packages from the delivery points of the conveyor 41 and to discharge them through apertures 53 in said cept yarn packages doffed from the machine and guide them onto the conveyor, mechanism -con- 4. casing 52 into skips 64 or other suitable receptaelse.

The yarn packages are shown on the conveyor bands 41 at C, on the conveyor bands 62 at D and being discharged through the apertures 63 into the skip 64 at E.

The switching arrangement by which the dot?- ing motor I6 is controlled desirably incorporates a conventional switch (not shown) which is timed to start the conveyors 41 and 62 when the sections 28. are moved to the hopper position, and to stop said conveyors after an interval of time sufficient for the discharge at 63 of all the doffed yarn packages.

Should it be necessary, at any time when the doffing motor 16 is not in operation to open the casing sections 28 to the hopper position, this may be performed manually by means of the handle 43, the knob 65 of which projects through a slot 66' in the headstock casing 6.

What I claim as my invention and desireto secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A Spinning or like machine of the specified type having spindles for winding yarn packages and mechanism for dofiing the packages at definite locations, and comprising, in combination,

a casing having a forward wall enclosing the lower part of the front of the machine below and alongside the dofiing locations, a traveling conveyor band extending Within the lower part of said casing throughout a portion, at least, of the length of the machine, the front of said casing consisting of door-like members, means supporting said members for outward tilting movement to positions in which they slope rearward toward and near to the forward edge of the cone veyor and in which they are disposed to internected with said members for moving the same outward to such package guiding positions, and means for operating said conveyor.

2. A machine as claimed in claim 1 which further includes, associated with the packagedoffing mechanism and cooperating in timed relationship therewith, means automatically effective to operate the casing door moving mech anism to more the doors into the package guiding position and to set the conveyor in motion immediately before the yarn packages are doffed,

and to restore the casing and stop the conveyor at appropriate intervals after completion of the dofling operation.

3. A machine as claimed in claim 1 which further includes a ring rail, a spindle rail, and operating mechanism for causing the spindle rail to be raised and lowered at the dofiing operation, and wherein the casing further includes a stationary back-plate alongside the rear edge of the conveyor, the door-like members which form the forward casing wall being arranged at their upper edges to close against the ring rail, the machine also including means connecting the door operating mechanism for operation from the spindle rail operating mechanism, said means being timed to cause the door-like members to be moved to their package guiding positions immediately before the dofiing operation commences.

4. A machine as set forth in claim 1 which further includes package dofflng mechanism, wherein the door-like members are pivoted at or near the level of the conveyor, the operating mechanism for the door-like members including a rocking shaft, a slow speed shaft operatively connected thereto, and means causing the slow speed shaft to work synchronously with the doifing mechanism.

5. A machine as set forth in claim 1 which further includes package cloning mechanism and wherein the door-like members are pivoted at or near the level of the conveyor, the operating mechanism for the door-like members including a rocking shaft, a slow speed shaft operatively connected thereto, means causing the slow speed shaft to act synchronously with the dofiing mechanism, and independent means for actuating said rocking shaft manually.

6. A machine as set forth in claim 1 in which a subsidiary conveyor is provided for receiving 15 yarn packages from the conveyor previously referred to and discharging them at the end of the machine into a suitable receptacle.

JAMES JACKSON HAYTHORNTHWAITE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 869,519 Rhoades Oct. 29, 1907 2,177,680 Abbott Oct. 31, 939 2,306,871 Esser et a1 Dec. 29, 1942 

